


Jason Will Remember

by Noblehunter



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: DCU/Stormlight Archive Crossover, Gen, Jason in Ethiopia, Jason is an Edgedancer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noblehunter/pseuds/Noblehunter
Summary: Jason is trapped by Joker without shards, without allies, and almost out of stormlight. All he had were words: Life Before Death, Strength Before Weakness, Journey Before Destination.It would have to be enough.
Comments: 19
Kudos: 28





	Jason Will Remember

It was hard to beat one of the Knights Radiant to death. Stormlight heals any wound that isn’t instantly fatal. Having the Stormlight beaten out of him was not an experience Jason wanted to repeat. Having the same bones broken before they even finished was almost as bad as the laughter. After three sessions, he still had some Stormlight raging inside but not enough to escape with. 

Joker had gone off somewhere to recover from the exertion and Jason was glad for the respite. 

“I’m sorry,” Sheila said from where she was chained to the wall across the room. 

“Don’t waste your breath,” Jason said. “You’ll have reason to be sorry for yourself once he’s done with me.”

They were being held in a bare stone room without even a hint of plant life. If Jason had his shards, he could have sliced a way in a matter of seconds. He regretted that he was still two ideals away from his blade. Jason wasn’t chained to the wall since he could slide out of any reasonable restraints but the room itself held him handily. Even a fully-fledged Edgedancer couldn’t slide through the gap under the door. 

“I’m sorry, too,” Salaren, his spren, said. “I should have been able to warn you.”

“I forgive you,” Jason said. “I guess pieces of the fundamental powers of creation aren’t omniscient.”

“Your spren is here?” Sheila said, perking up. “He can tell people where we are. They can come rescue us.”

“Sure,” Jason drawled. “Except for the voidspren hanging around. It’s been made clear if he tries to escape, he’ll be salad.”

“Excuse me,” Salaren said. “How many times to I have times to I have to tell you not to refer to me as lettuce.”

“Probably not too many more times,” Jason said wearily. 

“Don’t say that,” Salaren remonstrated. He started growing around in a circle on the floor in agitation. “Bruce will come. Or Dick will come falling out of the sky. Windrunners are excellent at making dramatic exits at the last minute.”

“He’s got only until Joker finishes his nap, which is cutting it close even for him.”

“They’ll come for you,” Sheila said with the fervour of a recent convert. “They don’t abandon their squires.”

“Sure, if they knew where I was,” Jason said. “But I made sure I wouldn’t have any busybodies coming to meddle.” He chuckled blackly. “You did your job well.”

There was nothing to say to that. 

A couple of hours drifted by and Jason tried to nap. The earlier beating had exhausted him and he needed any edge he could get if he was going to escape. He’d still need Joker to make a mistake but it had been known to happen. It had to happen again, eventually. 

Joker slammed the door open long before Jason had recovered any real strength. The door bounced off the stone wall with a crash. 

“All right, little birdy, it’s time for another session!” He twirled a crowbar in his hand. “Let’s get somewhere more comfortable.”

Jason tried to spring to his feet but the best he could manage was a weary climb. The meagre amount of stormlight in him did little more than keep him moving. It was no match for the fury of voidlight that boiled around Joker. 

“Fuck you,” Jason said and charged. 

He was too slow. Unable to spare the stormlight to reduce the friction on his feet, he was barely faster than an ordinary person. And Joker had voidlight to speed him. Jason had to block the crowbar with his left forearm. He clenched his teeth on a scream as the bone snapped. The pain quickly faded as his stormlight healed the injury. It guttered out with the arm still throbbing. The sudden absence of its strength dropped him on his ass. 

“Is the little bird tired?” Joker carolled. “Would he like a nap?” He raised the crowbar for another swing. 

“No thanks,” Jason said as he tried to roll out of the way. The blow caught him on the shoulder. This time, he screamed as his shoulder popped out of its socket. 

“Just hold still!” 

The next swing caught Jason in the ribs. The broke like kindling.

“That’s better.” Joker capered. “The sounds of ribs breaking is just music to my ears.” He laughed. “Any last words, little birdy?”

“Life before death,” Jason croaked. Pain spren blossomed around him. They crawled all over him, fingers plucking at his clothes. 

“Really? What a waste.” Joker brought the crowbar down on Jason’s knee. He put a hand to his ear as Jason screamed. 

“Strength before weakness,” Jason said as soon as he had enough air. 

“Nonsense!” The cackle almost drowned out the sound of Jason’s thigh breaking. He could hear it even over Sheila’s screaming. 

Jason sobbed for endless minutes while Joker stood over him. He leaned on the crowbar like it was a walking stick. 

“Come on, come on, I haven’t got all day.” Joker’s voice dropped from its usual high pitch into a ragged baritone. 

Only one or two more swings and Joker would start in on him for effect. 

Jason coughed. “Journey before—“ he coughed again. Holy fuck that hurt. “Before destination.” 

“Too bad. Your last words were wasted on a useless ideal. But I’ll tell Batsy when he gets here.” Joker raised the crowbar again. “You’ll just be another one of the Bat’s failures. Forgotten like all the rest.”

The word forgotten spurred something in Jason’s head. It gave him enough focus to force out, “I didn’t forget them.”

The crowbar stopped mid-swing. “What? No! No, you ruined your last words.” He glared down at Jason in consternation. “What are they teaching kids these days?”

Jason swallowed trying to moisten a throat stripped raw by screaming. “I remember your victims. Even the ones you don’t.”

“Good thing you’ll be gone soon,” Joker said raising the crowbar again. “They deserve to be forgotten.”

“I will...” Jason trailed off in the face of the irony of making promises with his last breath. His own words came back to him. Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination. 

Fuck it. 

“I will remember those who have been forgotten.”

Light exploded from Jason. Frost formed in a glyph on the ground around him. Stormlight filled him and he sprang to his feet. His injuries melted away under the torrent of power. The voidlight surrounding Joker seemed to wither and dim. 

Joker scrambled backwards the explosion. He only just kept his feet. “Don’t you stupid knights know when they’re beaten?” His eyes gleamed red.

“Nope.” Stormlight puffed out with the word. Instinctively, he breathed out a little more. The world seemed to lose its grip on him. 

“Let me show you!”

The crowbar hit Jason hook end first high on his cheek. The bone cracked but the bar just slid off his skin instead of digging in. The pain lasted only an instant. 

Joker snarled and brought the crowbar around for another swing. 

Jason pushed off with one foot and glided around Joker like he was on an ice rink. He punched Joker in the pack of the head. The monster wasn’t so tough when he couldn’t make an entrance with explosives. Joker staggered forward and twisted to wildly swing the crowbar. Jason caught it and pulled it from Joker’s hand with Stormlight enhanced strength. Off-balance, the clown couldn’t leverage the voidlight for his own strength and speed. The crowbar was wet and slick but felt heavy and satisfying in his hand. 

“Let’s not be hasty,” Joker said, backpedaling. “Life before death, right.”

Jason’s first swing took Joker in the gut. The next took out a kneecap and the third gratuitously smashed his right hand where Joker had used it to hold himself up. 

After Joker stopped wailing, he croaked. “I surrender. Take me away to the Bat’s little prison.” He coughed into his good hand. It came away as crimson as his eyes. 

“Batman isn’t here.” Jason said. He grinned at how Joker faltered. “I’m thinking the Skybreakers want a word with you.”

“You can’t,” Joker said, trying to crawl away with only two working limbs. “Bats doesn’t like them working here.”

“I’ll tell him it’s about bringing the orders together.” Jason’s grin stretched to match Joker’s. A carefully modulated blow knocked Joker out cold. 

He turned away from the still form. The door was still open and his jacket had to be around here somewhere. It had a fabrial he could use to call Oracle.

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who haven’t read the books, the first ideal “life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination” and the second ideal “I will remember those who have been forgotten” were written by Brandon Sanderson, not me.


End file.
